2 research outputs found
Does Acute Exercise Improve Driving Performance in Patients with Untreated Obstructive Sleep Apnea?
poster abstractObstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a highly prevalent, yet frequently undiagnosed sleep disorder
that often is associated with excessive daytime fatigue, and increased risk for motor vehicle
accidents. Although treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is effective,
adherence in many patients with OSA is often problematic. The primary objective of this study is
to determine if a brief bout of moderate-intensity exercise improves driving performance in those
who have recently been diagnosed with, are awaiting treatment for OSA. Each participant will
complete two visits to the TASI Driving Simulator Lab where they will perform two 20-minute
driving simulation tests, one of which will involve a brief (10-min) bout of moderate-intensity
exercise (e.g. walking briskly). Measures of interest during the driving simulation trials include
lane deviation, collision events, and braking response time. We hypothesize that driving
performance will be improved during simulated driving trials where OSA patients participate in
short duration exercise immediately before driving. The research proposed in this application is
significant because our focus is on an inexpensive intervention (i.e. exercise) available to
virtually all OSA patients that may have short- and long-term potential for improving key OSArelated
outcomes considered essential for driving safety